Chief priest, youths shutdown Osisioma NNPC depot

Operational and administrative activities were on Monday grounded at the Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) as youths numbering over one hundred from Okpokoroala in Uratta Autonomous Community, Osisioma Ngwa Local Government Area of Abia State barricaded entrances into the oil depot.

It was gathered that the youths of the host community who came in the company of a native doctor were protesting the inability of the management of the depot to give job to the youths.

The protest took another dimension when the community’s Chief Priest in the company of some youths brought out the statue of their community deity which they placed in front of the main entrance of the company and dared any staff to cross it.

The protesters carrying placards bearing inscriptions like: NNPC recognize your host community, NNPC since 1979 you’ve not offered us office pin as your host, is it fair? Are we not your host community, why treat us as if we don’t exist? Enough of these 42 years of neglect and more such, the youths demonstrated and sang peacefully within the barricaded gates of the company.

Speaking on behalf of the host community, Prince Barrister Young Ngwaziem, President of Uratta Autonomous Community said, “The agreement was that 60 percent of support staff must come to the host community. 

“The big people here used their relatives and brothers to replace the job meant for the host community. We don’t have one person in support staff of which 60 percent is ours. The only person we had, they removed him. They must tell us when they’ll site a single project here because they’ve not laid a single block here since they came.

“Since 1979 they took our lands without compensation they’ve not even given the host community even the smallest Health centre. Let them give our people their rights. They can’t even grade the roads leading to the depot. We don’t give them trouble, but they’re treating this peaceful community as though we are fools.”

The youth president of Okpokoroala, Comrade Chukwuemeka Chidi said that the presence of the NNPC is of zero blessing to them as they’ve added no joy to their host.

“We have written to them, our king has written to them as well, but they don’t care at all. Since 1979 that they came here, they’ve been employing people without looking on our own side. We have graduates and yet they don’t see them fit for employment here.

“We don’t want promises anymore. We can stay here for one month. How many times shall we right to them. People said dialogue is better and we’ve been doing that, but it baffles us that a company filled with learned people doesn’t value dialogue. We have our brothers who are registered contractors, but whenever work comes out, they don’t call them.

“They rather call outsiders to do what our people can easily do and even better. We came here without even a single stick not to talk of cutlass. It’s a peaceful demonstration and we will remain peaceful until our cries are heard.

“In the last fire disaster, we lost a lot of our people due to this company’s error. The committee sent from Abuja by this company promised us what they’ll do for this community and since then, they’ve all disappeared back to Abuja without fulfilling any.”

Addressing the protesters in the presence of heavily armed policemen, the depot manager, Mr. Joseph Dumaka Chukwudi pleaded with the protesters to exercise patience as he has forwarded all their complaints to Port Harcourt which he said will now forward the matter to Abuja.

He said: “I met this issue like this. I’ve not employed anybody here since I came except two recent persons. What the panel from Abuja promised you will be fulfilled. They’ll study it and forward to Port Harcourt.

“This depot is not of two divisions; Pipelines and Product Management Company (PPMC) and Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company (NPSC). The depot has been Balkanized. The management of the depot is now two.

“There’s a division now and it’s not as easy as you think to handle. NNPC segmented these divisions just to make management better. The management of NNPC is on your matter. I assure you that all the promises made to you must be accomplished.”